We understand you’re something of a flooring trade stalwart, Gary. Can you share a little about your career?
“Yes, indeed. It will be 35 years in the trade, next year. Like many, I left school and started as a fitter, learning the ropes and honing my craft for a decade, covering all aspects of flooring, from floorlaying and estimating, to planning and sales. From there, I worked in a number of customer-facing roles in sales, management and retail for leading flooring companies.”
Sounds like you’re something of a flooring expert. What inspired you to move to F. Ball, then?
“It’s always been a company that I’ve aspired to work for, what with F. Ball being market leader. Having been an installer, I have a lot of experience using our products and know the value of them. I was happy in the role I was doing, but I wanted to progress, to learn more and I was delighted when then the tech rep role came up.”
Wonderful stuff. And how has it all been going, so far?
“I’m pleased to say after four years, I’m still loving it. My background works in my favour, as I have built strong connections all over the region. I also cover much of West Yorkshire and this is all new territory for me, so I’m working from the ground up (no pun intended!), building new relationships – it’s challenging but fun at the same time.”
They’re a friendly bunch, Yorkshire folk. What have you been getting up to recently?
“We visited a doctors’ lab in Manchester with about 2,000m2 of raised access flooring. The client was having some issues due to their standard practice of putting down plyboard prior to installing floorcoverings. I recommended Stopgap Fill and Prime as a substitute to plywood and to fill the gaps between joints. The client was pleased as it made the job quicker, more cost effective, and it avoided imperfections showing through the final result.”
Sounds like you’ve made an F. Ball convert out of them. What would you say is the best part of your job?
“I think, because I’ve been in the trade for such a long time, customers become your friends and you get to meet different people on a daily basis, working with contractors, distributors and retailers. And, when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s always something that comes along that tests you.”
We’re sure many of our readers can attest to that one, Gary.